Over 14,000 General Motors employees will soon experience a major change…but other factors will account for their perception of it

It’s very challenging for organizations to implement necessary changes without alienating their employees. According to the Holmes-Rahe Life Stress Inventory, changes at work are as stressful as the birth of a new child and more stressful than the death of a close friend!

In a recent course on “Leading Change” we discussed the Kübler-Ross model of emotions experienced by terminally ill patients. That model uses five stages to explain what is often called the ‘change curve’: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. During the course, we had an excellent discussion that, as humans, we may be on many ‘change curves’ at one time.

For example, someone who has experienced an emotional family issue may be in the bargaining phase for that change while they are also in the depression phase about a personal injury. Those changes already underway multiply the effect of a major change at work (like the layoff of 14,000 co-workers).

General Motors has a significant challenge ahead…not only with the impacted employees but also with stakeholders like the media and government. It’s important for them to remember that everyone affected will see the change through the lens of the changes they are ALREADY going through.

That also means some groups of stakeholders will arrive in the acceptance phase sooner than others. GM can take advantage of those early adopters to influence the rest of the population. We’ll all be watching their progress closely.